Exactly a week ago on Easter Monday, a hiker spotted the woman's body in the Scheldt River in Kain, a borough of the Walloon town of Tournai.
The investigation revealed that it was Cathy Dubois (47), the restaurant owner who had gone missing two days before. On Monday, a suspect was arrested.
Dubois was the victim of a brutal murder on Easter weekend after she was attacked while returning from work in the restaurant she ran with her partner in the Place St-Pierre, the centre of Tournai.
She did not return home on Saturday evening, and on Sunday morning her car – in which traces of blood were found – was discovered at the back of Tournai station, covered in extinguishing powder, RTBF reports.
'Serious violence'
A day later, her lifeless body was found in the Scheldt River shortly before the Kain lock. While the initial investigation classified the case as manslaughter last week, the authorities stressed that it could be reclassified if and when more details come to light.
"An autopsy on the body revealed injuries that led to the conclusion that she had been the victim of serious violence, which led to her death," a spokesperson for the Tournai Public Prosecutor's Office said during a press conference on Monday. "The case has been reclassified as murder."
Dubois had received numerous blows, and suffered several head injuries and a broken nose. Afterwards, she was thrown unconscious into the river. The violence likely caused her death, but it cannot be ruled out that she was still alive when she ended up in the water.
A police escort during the funeral ceremony for Cathy Dubois on Saturday 06 April 2024. Credit: Belga/Jonas Roosens
This week, a suspect was arrested and questioned: a young man who is known in the area for suffering from drug addiction.
While the Public Prosecutor's Office does not want to communicate about the possible motive behind the murder for now, the Francophone media report that investigators are focusing on the hypothesis of a robbery that went wrong.
"I can confirm that one person has been deprived of his liberty. There will be no further communication today," the Public Prosecutor's Office said.
